Journal List > Ann Clin Microbiol > v.20(3) > 1078576

Kim, Kwon, and Lee: Comparison of Multilocus Sequence Typing Change Patterns of Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus faecium from 2015 to 2017

Abstract

Background

Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) is useful in determining the long-term evolutionary process and minimizes differences in experimental results across individuals and laboratories. It is also useful in determining evolutionary origins and backgrounds of bacterial species. This study carries out MLST analysis on VanA-type vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium isolated from patient specimens in a single university hospital over nine years in order to observe changes in genetic evolution over time.

Methods

During the years from 2007 to 2015, 44 clinical isolates of vanA-containing E. faecium were collected from Ajou University Hospital in Korea. Species were identified by the VitekII system (bio-Merieux, USA), and antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed by disk diffusion and E-test according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines. To determine genetic relatedness, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF M/S) was employed. To characterize clonal diversity, MLST analysis was used.

Results

All isolates were highly resistant to ampicillin, ciprofloxacin, and vancomycin but showed variable levels of resistance to teicoplanin. The 44 clinical isolates were genetically unrelated according to MALDI-TOF M/S analysis. MLST showed that the clinical isolates harbored 6 sequence types (ST), with ST17 (n=19) being the most common, followed by ST78 (n=13), ST192 (n=6), ST64 (n=4), ST262 (n=1), and ST414 (n=1).

Conclusion

The MLST analysis showed that the sequence types of most isolates belonged to clonal complex 17 This is consistent with outbreaks in hospitals. We had single observations for ST262 and ST414, suggesting that they were random occurrences. MLST can be useful for speculating the genetic evolution of VanA-containing E. faecium isolates.

Figures and Tables

Fig. 1

Minimum spanning tree from 44 strains after MLST analysis. Thick solid lines indicate the single locus variation. Thin solid lines indicate the double locus variation.

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Table 1

Characteristics of 44 vancomycin-resistant E. faecium isolates based on MLST, MALDI-TOF M/S analysis and antimicrobial susceptibility test

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VA, vancomycin; TP, teicoplanin; AM, ampicillin; TE, tetracyclin; CIP, ciprofloxacin; LZD, linezolid; SYN, quinupristin-dalfopristin; ST, sequence type.

Table 2

Distribution of sequence types of 44 strains

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ST, sequence type.

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